Living in the Name of Jesus
“Whatsoever you
do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God
and the Father by him.” –Colossians 3:17
Doing everything
in the name of Jesus does NOT mean that we simply affix His name to what we do.
Jesus warned that in the Day of Judgment there would be those who have cast out
devils “in His name,” and yet would be rejected by Him.
A great deal of
evil has been done through history “in the name of Jesus.” The crusaders
slaughtered the innocent by the thousands; the blood of evangelical martyrs
stained the medieval church; in our day Jim Jones called his followers together
in the “name of Jesus.” In the “name” of Jesus, men deny His truth, His way,
and receive death instead of life.
We use a “name”
to distinguish one person from another, one idea from another, and one object
from another. In John 17, Jesus claims that He had revealed unto His disciples
the “Name” of the Father, that is, the truth concerning the Father,
distinguishing the true and living God from all other dead gods, including the
vanity of the Pharisees.
Christ has not
given us a blank check to do, think, and pray whatever we want. He has not
given us His cosmic credit card to draw on the bank of heaven in order to
fulfill our lusts and our desires. This passage (Colossians 3:17) means the
opposite of that. The true concept is found in the following places: Matt. 10:22:
“Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.” They carry His name:
as He is revealed. “My name's sake” means “As I truly am, and as I have been
revealed” Acts 9:15,16: “But the
Lord said unto him [Ananias re Saul], Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel
unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of
Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's
sake.” Acts 10:42,43: [Peter to
Cornelius and his people]: “And he commanded us to preach unto the people,
and testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick
and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever
believeth in him shall receive remission of sins....”
If men receive
the truth concerning Jesus Christ, they are saved and have eternal life. To
deny Christ is to deny His true Person and His doctrine. I John 2:12: “I
write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his
name's sake.” I John 3:23: “And this is his commandment, that we should
believe on the name of His son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave
us commandment.”
Believing on His
name is believing the Gospel: the doctrine of Christ. It is not faith to
believe something that people made up about Him. Faith is believing the good
news about Him. I John 5:9-12. John is plain: to have faith is to believe the
record God gave of His Son.
We Must Believe
the Message! Return to Menu.We are not saved by “believing,” but by
believing the revealed message concerning Christ as it is set forth in the
Scriptures: I Cor. 15:1-3. We must believe in Him as He has been revealed: “As
many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on his name….” John 1:12.
The name of
Jesus is not a talisman that sanctifies our own will and way. It means that all
we say or do as Christians must be in conformity with Christ as He is revealed.
We are not to contradict the Gospel by what we say or by what we do. Jesus said
it succinctly, “Why call me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?”
1. The doctrine of Christ is the measure of doctrine: II John 9,
10: “If any come and bring not this doctrine,
do not receive them into your house, or bid them Godspeed.”
2. The love of Christ is the measure of practice: “If a man
provide not for his own, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.”
3. Everything is to be measured by Jesus Christ, for He is the
way, the truth, and the life. The devil knows where the citadel of the Kingdom
of God is. His assault is always on the person and work of Jesus Christ, for
that is the citadel. Satan seeks to draw men off from Christ, by persuading
them to deny His doctrine, to trust in law-keeping, to introduce vain
philosophies and deceit, or to adopt a lifestyle contrary to His Way. Doing so brings death, not life, no matter
what our enthusiasm.
When the church
has embraced Jesus Christ as He is revealed in Scripture and has faithfully
proclaimed His doctrine, she has been strong and healthy, though hated by the
world. She has been weakened and sickly when she has allowed the truth of Jesus
Christ and His doctrine to be diluted with the imaginations and false
philosophies of men's vain minds, even though she may be rich in goods and
thinks she needs nothing (Rev. 3:17-20).
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Write:
Pastor C. W. Powell
Trinity Covenant Church
6050 Del Paz Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
719-590-1477